Pathways to You
by hmfan24
Summary: In the Road to Ninja world, Sasuke falls for Hinata after seeing her eyes reddened from allergies one spring and instantly falls in love. He chases her until she's transported to the parallel dimension. The two Hinatas switch places and have their own adventures with the Sasukes.


hmfan: Hey. So this is some rough practice to get my writing mojo back. I got this idea from a fanart picture and it's partially inspired by Pepe Le Pew.

Note: This is a Road to Ninja crossover. So Menma is Naruto of that world and t he characters will be OOC.

Spring brings days like this. Life saturates plants with green. The wind carries fresh scents of flowers and nature. Flowers from every corner of the country can easily be wafted by standing at any point in the middle of an open medow. New ideas sprout up from every walk of life. Allergies were everywhere.

Just because an idea is new does not mean it's a good idea.

"I think Hinata wants me back," said Sasuke, looking over the balcony to see the lone Hyuuga heiress making her way to a local restaurant. "She wants me because she does that thing where a girl who really wants a guy plays hard to get. She likes to do that a lot. Damn Tsundere..." His eyes went Sharingan with arousal. "Just look at those sexy red eyes."

Menma raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure those are allergies..." Menma was slightly more mellow than the Naruto of the parralel universe. Since he had parents, he didn't feel the need to be as boisterous or outgoing for attention. He grinned all the same, however, finding humor in making fun of his best friend.

"What is he babbling on about now?" Sakura rubbed the temples of her head and let out a sigh. "Sasuke, leave Hinata alone. She doesn't want you. She's never wanted you. She wants Menma. Just yesterday she had me in a chokehold after I paid for his food. Which reminds me, Menma, you owe me a couple Ryo for that."

Team 7 sat on a rooftop where they could overlook the main street of Konoha. They manage to have their deepest conversations sitting in their respective places. Sasuke leaned in the corner with his face facing the city. Sakura stood idly in the middle, facing both Sasuke and Menma while Menma stood on the balcony lookingto the gates. There, they could be as open as they wanted to be without being truly judged by one another. Sasuke and Menma often debated over which girls were the prettiest. Sakura quelled them when things got too heated and fights errupted. Fights errupted all the time, however. Although they'd known each other since they were born, after puberty hit, Sasuke seemed to be more estranged from them. While Menma was talk and dream about girls, Sasuke was more apt to pursue and court women that suited his fancy.

Menma shurgged, "Sasuke's a virgin. He doesn't know what he's talking about." Menma often talked down to Sasuke for his virginity, but he never revealed whether or not he himself was a virgin. "You just can't stand the thought of girls wanting me can you?"

Sakura gave Menma a dead look. She gave both of the idiots a dead look. Surely there was something better she could be doing that was better than what she was doing now. However, she knew she was with two of her favorite people in the entire village. "Sasuke, if you actually like Hinata, then just tell her. Girls are easy like that."

"Sakura-chan, if anyone knows how easy girls are, it's me. And Hinata is playing hard to get. But you're right. She just wants me to give chase. And I'll chase her sexy ass all night long."

"See, stop right there. Don't call her 'sexy ass'. And don't stalk the poor girl. She'll probably kill you before the sun sets," she said, pointing at the sun in the sky. It was noon.

Menma sighed and slapped his forehead, "Sakura, that sounds like a challenge. You know how we are with challenges."

"Challenge accepted," Sasuke announced. With a poof of smoke, he was gone.

Menma hastily turned to Sakura, spit flying from his mouth, "This is your fault!"

Sakura shrugged and smiled reluctantly. "Well, Hinata can handle herself."

It was nearly sunset when Hinata finally had Sasuke cornered. The scumbag was an adept ninja despite his foolish habits. The pervert had been chasing her since noon. At that point, she wasn't even sure what his initial request was. Regardless, she disliked dealing with his behavior. It was annoying and disgraceful to kunoichi everywhere. She was too powerful to be manhandled by anyone not excluding Menma.

And so, her plan was to tail him discretely so that she could stun and torture him into submission. It worked with others on foreign lands. So why wouldn't it work with the weak-willed shinobi? Hinata jumped from rooftop to rooftop, following Sasuke who was walking on the ground. Once he was no longer surrounded by passerby, she'd land her attack.

Hinata wasn't going to let him get away easily. She had become increasingly frustrated with Menma's indifference towards her. Before, Menma would at least get flustered and run away from her advances, but lately it was as if he didn't care how Hinata felt. And everyone knows that the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. She actually prefered being pursued than the pursuing. Well, that'd be true if it weren't for Sasuke. Sasuke just wasn't her type. He wasn't tough and he wasn't charming at all to her. He was so self-centered compared to Menma - and superficial to top that.

Although at that moment, hunting was getting harder by the second. She felt dizzy and lightheaded. Breathing through her nose was getting to be impossible. What started as an itch in her throat evolved into a full-grown sore throat. And then there was a headache. Her eyes began to water. She wiped them as she leapt from a high rooftop to a lower one.

"Come to me, darling, for in my arms you shall never weep again," said a voice she knew to be Sasuke's. "Those ruby eyes of yours will turn red with love." She opened her eyes as his voice slowly faded.

A loud buzz sounded that resembled electromagnets. She felt a shock through her body. Th world around her turned into darkness and the reverted back to normal. Only this time, Sasuke wasn't standing there with his arms open wide. His arms were crossed and he was looking over at the setting sun. The sky was darkening. And the air was still.

Hinata felt humble. The world had gained a new spirit. The air felt different. Sasuke was barely recognizable. His shoulders were slumped as if they were heavy and burdened. He was as quiet as he was still. There were scars on the visible parts of his body.

She felt her nose clear up as she sneezed.

Sasuke jumped. "Hn. When'd you get here?" He looked dryly down at her with a disapproving scowl.

She frowned, still shell-shocked from the sudden change of setting. Her limbs shook and her stomach tightened into a knot. She felt panicked and so she did what came naturally to her. "Look here, loser, whatever jutsu you just did was not okay."

"Loser?" His eyebrow twitched violently. "What are you talking about, Hinata?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! You've been trying to get into my pants all day and then you pull that shit?"

There was an awkward pause. Sasuke didn't flinch at the accusation. That's not to say he wasn't puzzled by the situation as a whole. "Um...you said we could go on a date," he said. "We're on a date right now and you just showed up...late."

Hinata stood up and grabbed Sasuke by the collar. "What kind of shit are you trying to pull?!"

"If you're sick, you can leave," said Sasuke, getting short. He didn't appreciate going through the motions of getting ready for this trite occasion. But it was something Hinata had agreed to. Sasuke had spent the past few seasons courting Hinata fair and square. So when she finally accepted his proposal of going out on a date, he had been supspicious the entire day.

"You have some nerve," she muttered as she dropped Sasuke from her grasp. "You can't have me. I'm too good for you..."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I know...that's probably why I want you." He paused and looked away. "If you want to go then go, we can do this when you're feeling better," he said bitterly.

This wasn't the Sasuke she was used to. The Sasuke she knew was too tenacious to give up so easily on her. So when Sasuke prepared himself to walk away, she reached out to him. "W-wait," she stuttered out for the first time in her life.

Sasuke looked back, not knowing what to expect at that point.

"Umm...I'm leaving."

"That's fine. Goodbye."

Hinata came to the sinking conclusion that she made a mistake.


End file.
